Tempted by the prospect of a "Witch loot package," the group exploded with unprecedented enthusiasm. The Evil Witches wandering the New Continent were no longer seen as monsters; they were walking staves and spell books.
Aether and his retinue could barely restrain themselves from jumping out of their boats, closing in on the New Continent at speeds never before seen. In the blink of an eye, they had taken the lead.
Venti was momentarily shocked by their passion. Once he gathered his wits, he grumbled, "Good grief. Don't they know that Evil Witches have a very low drop rate for staves? Even spell books don't drop every time. Do they think they all have Klee and Ganyu's level of luck?"
Venti and his group remained unhurried. For Mondstadt, which possessed "strategic-level luck" in the form of Klee, resources would always be more abundant than for the others.
Ryen laughed as he scooped up a freshly awakened Klee, speaking with a hint of irony. "They don't have anyone with that kind of luck, but..." He paused, smiling. "They do have people armed with Looting-enchanted diamond swords."
Venti went silent for a moment, then his expression shifted abruptly. "Quick, quick! Lord Diluc, row faster! Don't let them beat us to it! Hurry up! There are only a dozen of them, if we don't grab them, all the staves will be gone!"
Diluc's face darkened; he felt like kicking Venti overboard. "We'd row faster if you just shut up and row!"
Venti ignored him, hunkering down and throwing his entire being into rowing. He even channeled his meager Anemo energy to accelerate the boat. Ningguang and the others watched in a daze, and by the time they regained their senses, Venti, Alhaitham, and their groups were already racing toward the New Continent.
Ningguang whispered, "Shouldn't we go compete for the Evil Witches?"
Ryen laughed. "Compete for what? The staves?"
Hu Tao nodded with a straight face. "Right! Those staves are equipped with spells from the Witchery mod; they're definitely stronger than the ones we found in the Twilight Forest."
Ryen tapped Hu Tao's head, amused. "Don't look down on Twilight Forest staves. Although the spell combinations there are lackluster, they are at least Intermediate-level. Competing for these staves from Evil Witches is feasible, but these aren't the high-level witches you find in Wizard Towers, these staves... at best, they're Intermediate-level, and you aren't even guaranteed to get two or three of those."
"Aether and Alhaitham don't have any staves at all, so they have to prioritize grabbing whatever they can for emergencies. You all already have Intermediate or even Master-level staves, what do you need those Apprentice-level starter staves for?"
Hu Tao froze, then clapped her hands. "Oh, right! But, Venti and Diluc..."
Ryen rolled his eyes. "Venti has been blinded by the prospect of loot; he didn't even think of that. We have Intermediate staves now; what we need isn't the wand itself, but the spell books that Evil Witches drop. But spell books can be reused, what's the point in fighting them for it? Let them grind the monsters; we can just wait to reap the harvest."
Guided by Ryen, the group finally realized the situation. They stopped rushing and rowed leisurely toward the New Continent. Ten minutes later, they finally stood on solid ground. Ryen looked at the dense cluster of boats in the sea behind them, they were all Aether's. It seemed they were in such a rush to grab monsters that they hadn't even bothered to stow their boats.
That didn't matter. Sitting in a boat didn't consume resources. But this was exploration time; once massive armies came over for development, they couldn't keep treating boats as disposables, could they? Not to mention the inconvenience, if so many troops came to explore, two people per boat would result in an astronomical number of logs consumed.
Ryen pointed toward the sea. "Ningguang, make a note of this. Let's place a beacon here as a marker. When the army arrives to build, we'll construct a port here for easy docking and landing. Let's be civilized, just because this world is a wilderness doesn't mean we should be sloppy."
Ningguang nodded with a faint smile. "I was thinking the same." She took the materials from her inventory and stacked a simple 3x3 iron block base for a beacon. A beam of light pierced the sky, visible even from the middle of the sea. There was no need to worry about rowing off-course anymore.
"To avoid getting lost, we should also build floating island platforms as markers on the sea. I'll send the notice out later." Ningguang opened her comms to send a message to Dash and the others.
While they were exploring the Witchery mod, it didn't mean all the troops had to remain on the Main Continent. They had enough manpower; many development projects didn't require that many people. By rotating them, they could mobilize another two thousand men from the Millelith and the Knights of Favonius. They would follow in their footsteps and slowly build up the New Continent. Who knew, by the time they finished exploring the Witchery mod, many of the New Continent's bases might already be operational.
Ryen added a reminder: "Let me know when they finish building the bases. I need to install a teleport point here."
With that, Ryen led the group to continue onward in search of Aether and the others. It was clear Aether was in a huge hurry; he had vanished from sight in the blink of an eye. Ryen and his party weren't in a rush, chatting as they walked, savoring the scenery, which, while similar to the Main Continent, was still a fresh landscape.
A new world, a new mood. Ryen was happy that the area under his actual control had increased once again. Ningguang and the others were delighted, wondering how many resources could be excavated from a landmass no smaller than the Teyvat continent.
A few kilometers away, Aether's team was the first to arrive. Bringing along a dozen Khaenri'ahns, Aether watched the witches wandering nearby with excitement. When he saw Endis take out a staff, Aether smacked the back of his head.
"What are you doing with a staff? Use a sword!"
Endis looked aggrieved, muttering, "But, Your Highness... the enemies have staves. If we don't use them, we're in danger!"
"Are you lucky enough?" Aether retorted. Endis shook his head blankly.
Aether was annoyed. "If you're not lucky, you dare to use a staff? Do you want us to come back empty-handed? The drops from these Evil Witches are low-probability. If you're afraid of dying, we have Undying Totems. If you aren't brave enough to engage, give them to someone else! We won't get any staves unless we use Looting swords!"
Endis realized his mistake and grinned sheepishly. "Your Highness is wise. But, Your Highness, I notice most of the staves these witches have are Apprentice-level; there are very few Intermediate ones."
Aether grumbled, "Would it even be our turn if they were Intermediate? How many staves does Khaenri'ah have right now? You're worried about whether the wand is Intermediate or Apprentice? Even if it's a starter wand, we have to get it! If nothing else, we can save up Arcane Compendiums to upgrade them later. Right now, the wand itself is the priority! We must obtain them... and these Evil Witches also drop the gear they're wearing."
The Khaenri'ahns looked at Aether with adoration. It was truly rare that Aether could think of so many intricate details during such a tense period of resource acquisition. No wonder he was their Prince.
In his heart, Aether was viciously picturing Lumine's face, remembering the smug expression she wore when he asked her for a wand earlier. Aether would remember this grudge. This New Continent would be the most developed place for Witchery. And they, the Khaenri'ahns, were to rebuild their nation here. What did that mean? Khaenri'ah would occupy the most resources in the New Continent in the future. When that time came, he would shove a dozen Master-level staves in Lumine's face and make her die of envy.
Revenge is a dish best served cold. Sibling rivalry is a hundred-year affair. In the words of a proverb from a world he once traveled, this was called "sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall." The New Continent was his place of rising fortune. He would make Lumine understand that an older brother is always an older brother.
He was already fantasizing about the wonderful image of Lumine begging him for a Master-level wand. Suddenly, noisy footsteps came from behind, followed by Alhaitham's urgent orders.
"Cyno! Tighnari! Dehya! Switch to Looting-enchanted swords and follow me! Nilou, Collei, you're in charge of long-range support! Grab as many as you can! Sumeru needs a massive number of staves!"
Aether's beautiful fantasies were instantly shattered. Endis quietly poked Aether and whispered, "Your Highness, they're moving in. Shall we head out now?"
"Do you have to ask me that?! Are you an idiot!" Aether roared in fury, rising and drawing his diamond sword toward the witches. "Kill! Grab as many staves as you can! Quick, before the main forces arrive!"
The two groups locked eyes, both sensing the other's wariness. Counting them up, there were fewer than twenty witches. Even with Looting, drops weren't guaranteed. The staves Khaenri'ah and Sumeru needed were far more than this hole could fill.
Just as they were calculating how to force the others out, the sound of shouting erupted from behind them again. Venti, Diluc, and the others had arrived. Aether and Alhaitham were shocked. They exchanged a look and immediately understood: Mondstadt already had enough staves, Sumeru and Khaenri'ah were the ones who truly lacked them.
Instantly, they stopped targeting each other and began carving up the remaining witches. Witches could cast spells, and their ranged attacks were formidable, but Aether's side had too many people. One slash each, and the witches couldn't hold up. In the blink of an eye, there were few witches left on the field.
Venti was just about to draw his blade when he saw the witches were effectively wiped out. He felt disgruntled, standing with hands on his hips, watching Aether and the others in the distance.
"I say! Did you have to be so impatient? We're all friends, couldn't you have left a few for us?"
"No!" Aether slashed a witch to death and clutched the wand to his chest. "You in Mondstadt have enough staves. We don't have any yet. Is it necessary to fight us for these Apprentice and starter ones?"
Venti pouted. "Don't think I didn't see it, that was an Intermediate wand you just picked up!"
Aether was non-committal. Watching the last few witches get finished off, he breathed a sigh of relief. This wave had netted Khaenri'ah eight staves. While only two were Intermediate-level, Aether didn't mind at all. Every wand was a precious resource for Khaenri'ah today.